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December 14, 2021

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Viva Connections (Public preview) is rolling out

From Microsoft Corporation
Technical Bulletin: MC284081 · Published Sep 9, 2021

Message Summary

Viva Connections, part of Microsoft Viva, is your gateway to a modern employee experience. The Viva connections app incorporates a customizable dashboard, the feed, and relevant resources all in one experience in the Microsoft Teams mobile app.

This Public preview release includes the ability to:

  1. Set a SharePoint home site from the SharePoint admin center
  2. Create, author, and manage a dashboard from the home site
  3. Use Video news links to communicate announcements
  4. Use the new Dashboard and Feed web parts on the home site
  5. Brand the Viva Connections app for the desktop and mobile experiences for Android and iOS

Note: The preview is off by default and requires admin configuration to enable.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID: 86542

When this will happen

The Viva Connections Public preview release will begin rolling out starting September 9th and is expected to be completely rollout by September 20th.

Note: Many customers will notice that certain Viva Connections features will become available in SharePoint before the Viva connections app can be enabled in Teams. It’s recommended that you prepare for Viva Connections now but plan to enable the full experience in the Teams admin center after September 20th.

How this will affect your organization

The Viva connections app in Microsoft Teams will be blocked by default. A Teams admin can enable and customize the Viva Connections app in the Teams admin center once a home site in SharePoint has been designated and the dashboard has been published. 

Update 1: Set the home site from the SharePoint admin center

A home site can now be set from the SharePoint admin center instead of using PowerShell. From this home site, a dashboard can be created and configured for use in the Viva Connections app. Learn more about setting up a home site from SharePoint admin center.

Home site creation
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Update 2: Set up the Viva Connections dashboard for the first time

Once you’ve set your home site, you can create the Viva Connections dashboard from the home site’s settings panel. Then, create custom dashboard cards that are targeted to specific to help employees find relevant resources and complete essential tasks.

We also recommend that you use the Viva Connections Extensibility for building even more engaging custom experiences for your dashboard.

Dashboard card creation experienceDashboard preview experience
Dashboard Add a card
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Dashboard experience
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Update 3: Use Video news links to communicate with your organization

Videos are an engaging way to reach users in your organization. Videos hosted on SharePoint sites can be published as Video news links from any SharePoint organizational news site. Video news links will appear in the Viva Connections Feed. Learn more about Video news links.

Video News links
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Update 4: Use the new Dashboard and Feed web parts on the home site

Once you’ve set up the dashboard, you can use the Dashboard web part on the home site to surface Viva Connections content in SharePoint. Use the Feed web part on the home site to display a personalized list of conversations and news across the organization.

Dashboard and Feed Web parts
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Update 5: Customize Viva Connections branding for the desktop and mobile experience

In the Teams admin center, upload the logo or icon your organization would like to use for the Viva Connections experience. This logo or icon will appear in the Teams app bar for both desktop and mobile. Clicking on that logo will launch the Viva connections experience.

Customize branding
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What you need to do to prepare

Viva Connections is an optional application that brings news, resources, and tasks into one place. We recommend that you plan to build and deploy your Viva Connections app as a part of your organization’s employee experience.

Review the Viva Connections overview where you will learn how to prepare your tenant and find step-by-step guidance on how to deploy Viva Connections for your organization.

More resources:

TECHNICAL BULLETIN END

QuixTec provides this and other technical bulletins unaltered from Microsoft. As an authorized Microsoft Partner, we ensure that all our solutions we deliver to you include the latest Microsoft updates.

ABOUT US: QuixTec, LLC is a U.S. certified Veteran Owned, modern DevOps organization with experience in a plethora of IT Software Languages.  As a Microsoft Partner, we specialize in Discounted Microsoft Software Licensing, Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft365 and HTML5 technologies for small to enterprise-sized organizations. Our dedication to IT excellence is evidenced through our PECB ISO Certification training center. The only PECB ISO authorized center in Washington State. QuixTec, implements and provides training for upcoming open-source digital marketing services that are taking the industry by storm. This solution, used by over 100,000 businesses, provides enterprise level marketing capabilities at startup rates. The founder, Richard, has 30 years of experience working with several notable companies that include World Vision, Expedia, Microsoft, Levi Strauss, NASA, Boeing Aerospace, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the U.S. Air Force, to name a few.  QuixTec is in the Seattle area. Phone today for a free consultation and project estimate.

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